Leaks of hydrocarbons and other chemical products from storage tanks or pipelines can cause environmental damage including ground water contamination. Alternatively, contamination of electrical equipment by hydrocarbons and other chemical products may also cause severe damage to the equipment.
Further, known methods to detect solvents generally use a coaxial cable structure whereby the solvent is absorbed into the dielectric material and thereby change its electrical properties. These methods are slow to react and it is often preferred that the detector cable be submerged in the solvent. Also, these methods do not perform well at detecting viscous solvents having a surface tension greater than 20 mN m.sup.-1. The methods also tend to be non-specific and may give false alarms in the presence of contaminants such as oils. There is a need for a simple device for detection of solvent leaks.